| What's News
at Mat-Su the MSC campus newsletter pnprd@matsu.alaska.edu |
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P.O. Box 2889 Volume II |
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Message from the Director
I would first like to thank everyone for
the warm and gracious welcome I have received at Mat-Su College. As I
ask a multitude of questions you have also been very understanding and
forthright. Many thanks for all your help and patience.
As summer
begins to wind down and the fall, with all its accompanying activity,
looms large on our horizon it is appropriate to give credit to all
those who made the summer a success and to those who have done such an
outstanding job to increase our enrollment. We would all be
surprised, I think, if fall’s enrollment continued to be so far in
excess of last fall’s as it is now, but the efforts of technical
services, admissions and records, and student services should not go
without recognition. Obviously, their efforts have made enrollment
easier and more “user friendly” for potential students. Hopefully,
over the next year we can offer even more reasons why Mat-Su College
should be the first choice for higher education for the people of the
valley.
You have
all been very busy over the last year with a number of searches,
retirements, and other changes. During the upcoming academic year we
will also be presented with more searches, possibly some retirements,
and certainly some changes. In regard to changes, it is my intent to
talk about changes openly, and well before the fact, so that decisions
can be made based on good information, a thorough understanding of
needs, and in the best interests of everyone, particularly our
students. One change where I have not been able to proceed in this
manner is the current renovation project in JKB to create some much
needed office space. We were faced with an opportunity to begin the
project now and only inconvenience a few people for a relatively short
time. I thought it best to proceed and spare as many as possible the
mess and noise of the destruction and construction. For those of you
who are inconvenienced, please be patient, the finished product will
be worth the trouble.
Over the
past few weeks I have had the opportunity to meet many of you. For
those of you who will be returning in the fall I look forward to
seeing you and invite you to stop by my office so we can meet at your
convenience. I will also be walking about and will try to stop by as
many offices as I can to meet and get to know everyone as soon as
possible. Just remember, there are many of you and only one of me, do
not feel slighted if I don’t stop by to meet you immediately.
This past three weeks I have also been meeting a variety of people in the valley who have great interest in the college, the services we provide, and what we can do to help the people of the region. As I continue to learn more about the valley and its people opportunities for the college will naturally present themselves. Some of these opportunities will be easy to take advantage of. Others will require a good deal of work on our part. It is my hope that we can work together to meet the needs of the valley, be a strong part of the local economy and a vital portion of UAA.Paul R. Dauphinais Ph.D. |
Al
Okeson, who is now
“retired,” has been spending his free time in South Dakota where he
has been helping his brother on the family farm. We all know how
lovely South Dakota can be at this time of year, especially on a
tractor in the hot sun! Al expects to be back in Alaska by August
12. He wishes to pass on to everyone that he truly appreciates all
the support he received over the past year from the MSC faculty and
staff. Al enjoyed his year, albeit a hectic one, as Interim
Director and wishes the College a successful transition with Paul as
our new Director.
Leza Madsen is officially retired
as of July 31 after 26 years of service with the University and as
the MSC Librarian. A reception for Leza is planned for Sunday,
August 11, at the Palmer Elks Lodge from 4 p.m. until 6 p.m. If you
have not done so already, please RSVP by calling Debbie Dickey at
745-9723.
A Director of Library Services search is currently under way. The search committee has reviewed several applications and they plan to conduct telephone interviews for four finalists the week after next. We hope to have someone hired later this fall. Meanwhile, Gini Geary is the acting librarian. Summer enrollments are doing quite well and in fact we are experiencing the highest headcount and FTE we have seen in many years. Fall enrollments are looking good too, and at this point in time we are almost 40% ahead of last year. As we get closer to the start of fall classes we do not expect that percentage to remain quite that high, but the trend is certainly a positive one. A significant side note is that the number of web registrations has been increasing each semester. Once our students find out how easy it is to register online they prefer it. Remember the days of standing in long lines for what seemed like hours? Those days are gone and I think we can all say, “thank goodness!” Cathy Baxter reports some good news from the High Tech Training/Workforce Development Office. They have finally received the long awaited extension from Washington, D.C. that will enable the grant to continue until July, 2003.On another happy note, Cathy was selected by the Microsoft IT Academy Regional Center as one of two national scholarship recipients to attend a weeklong training at the Summer IT Institute. The Institute is sponsored by Microsoft Corporation and held through the Educator-to-Educator program, at the National Workforce Center for Emerging Technologies, Bellevue Community College. This training is designed to:
The college's National Workforce Center for Emerging Technologies is a national program, which is redefining information technology education through innovative programs, pathways and partnerships. Congratulations Cathy! |
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Computer Systems Technology initiative
-We received some positive news regarding the initiative for an
I.T. faculty position. We have received funding for a one-year term
position. The AAS degree in development over the past year was
approved by UAB in May, but did not make it onto the Board of Regents
agenda for the June meeting. We’ve been told it will go before the
board at their September meeting. Hopefully, it will be approved and
eventually lead to a tenured track faculty position.
Admissions & Records has been
working diligently this summer to purge inactive files and deal with
the backlog of old records. As we near the end of stage one of this
project we'd like to thank the folks from other departments who have
generously pitched in. Eric Blomskog's entire crew moved boxes
multiple times, Don and Kristal from VA Services filed, purged,
and sorted, and Amy from Advising was a real trouper willing to tackle
any pile no matter how high. Special thanks go out to the Bookstore
student workers, Kelly, Michelle, and Amber. Besides
mega-alphabetizing, they earned an honorary degree in Constructive
Destruction. Thanks for all your hard work!
Construction Zones - Our long
awaited warehouse is going up quickly. In a few more weeks the
exterior walls will be up and the road to Snodgrass Hall, which has
been closed all summer, will be open once again. The completion date
for the project is January 2003. You can be sure our Physical Plant
guys are looking forward to moving into their new digs.
You may have
noticed some indoor construction happening on campus. The area in the
older section of JKB (where Student Services resided before moving
into the FSM building) is being renovated into additional office
space. The area, which consisted of four offices of varying sizes,
will be transformed into a total of eight and will house Title III,
Workforce Development and additional faculty office space. See the
latest on both of these projects on our web page at: http://_____ |
Video-Teleconferencing Cart - Our
campus has recently acquired some new technical equipment in the
form of a video-teleconferencing cart thanks to the folks at UAA IT
Services. The original plan was to set up a Video Teleconferencing
Center in a dedicated classroom, but has evolved into a portable
cart based system that can be moved into any of our classrooms.
With this new equipment we will be able to provide live interactive
video instruction with UAA and eventually other sites. We are
excited about having this new technology, which helps bring us
closer to our goal of offering distance education.
What is it?
Have you been wondering what has been going near the entrance FSM
over the last few months? Well, it is the long awaited “Art in
Public Places” for the Fred & Sara Machetanz building. As soon as
it arrives from the foundry,
where it is being cast, the sculpture will be installed. Artist
Gene Stotts created the 5-foot 6-inch bronze sculpture entitled
“Hearkening Spirit.” For a sneak preview of what it will look like
go to the following link: ______ Fair Time is coming up soon. Opening day will be Thursday, August 22 and we will be staffing our cabin along with folks from UAA. The Physical Plant crew has given our cabin a facelift with some new carpet and tile. The usual games and prizes will be on the agenda and we are once again recruiting volunteers to help spread the word about all the good things we are doing at Mat-Su College. This is an opportunity for faculty to promote their programs and to just have a good time. If you would like to sign up to help, please call or stop by Bette’s office. You will receive a free ticket for admission.
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Aug. 11 Aug. 12 Aug. 12 Aug. 14 Aug. 15 Aug. 22 Aug. 22 Aug. 23 Aug. 24 Aug. 26 Sept. 2 Sept. 2 Sept. 3 Sept. 19 |
Leza Madsen’s retirement
reception Full time faculty on contract New full-time faculty orientation at UAA Chancellor’s Leadership Conference Technology Workshop at MSC Alaska State Fair opens Faculty Convocation at UAA in Anchorage Faculty Convocation/Orientation at MSC Alaska State Fair Parade in Palmer Fall semester classes begin Labor Day holiday (campus closed) State Fair ends No classes for students (campus open) Community reception for College Director |